Apple Tart

The sweetness of the apples and vanilla contrasted with the tart marmalade and Grand Marnier baked in a rich crust is spectacular. The extra hand work is worth it.

Ingredients

Crust

¼ pound pareve margarine

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

2 egg yolks

3 tablespoons ice water

1 ¼ cups flour

Apple Filling

8 large Golden Delicious apples

¼ pound pareve margarine

One inch piece of fresh Vanilla bean

¼ cup confectioner’s sugar

½ cup tart orange marmalade

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (see comment and substitute)

1 tablespoon water

Optional: 3 ounces toasted sliced almonds

Equipment

11 inch flan ring (or quiche pan with removable bottom)

Cookie sheet

Baking parchment

Electric food processor

Large skillet

Fine sieve

Pastry brush

Directions

Line cookie sheet with baking parchment and place flan ring on top of it. Set aside.

Put flour and ½ cup sugar in bowl of processor with steel knife attached. Pulse a few seconds.

Cut ¼ pound margarine into slices and add them to bowl. Pulse again until mixture resembles crumbs.

Beat yolks with water. Pour this mixture through feeding tube while the processor is running . Turn off processor when a ball of dough has formed. It will be quite soft. Scrape all dough into the center of flan ring and press it around the ring and up the sides until you have formed a tart shell. Chill for one hour at least.

Prepare apples while crust is chilling. Peel, quarter and core 3 apples. Slice them paper thin by hand or in the processor.

Melt ¼ pound margarine in skillet. Slice the Vanilla bean in half but leave its spine intact. Add vanilla bean to melted margarine. Add sliced apples to pan and stir constantly until apples have browned. Press down on the vanilla bean to make sure that it has released all its seeds onto the apples. Remove vanilla bean.

Remove tart shell from refrigerator. Arrange sautéed apples in an even layer on the bottom of shell.

Preheat oven to: 400 F.

Peel, quarter, core and slice remaining apples thinly. Place these apples in consecutive layers on top of the sautéed ones. Keep layering apples until they are all used up.

Sift ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar over top of tart. Place tart in oven and bake for 45-60 minutes. Watch it carefully to be sure crust doesn’t burn. It will darken considerably.

Place apple tart on cooling rack. Melt marmalade with one tablespoon water (can be done in microwave). Stir in Grand Marnier. Brush glaze gently over the top of the tart. Sprinkle with toasted almonds if desired. Chill. Serve tart at room temperature.

This makes a great dessert, whether for Shabbat or any other occasion:

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

6 peaches, peeled and sliced

4 tablespoons 10x confectioners’ sugar

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

parve vanilla ice cream (or dairy if you do not intend this dish to cap a fleishig meal)

Cobbler Topping

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup 10x confectioners’ sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted margarine (or butter, if this will be a milchig dessert)

1 egg

5-6 tablespoons almond milk (or milk, if this will be a milchig dessert)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Put the peaches in an ovenproof dish; add the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch , and almond extract, toss them all together. Bake the peaches in the oven for 20 minutes.

While the peaches are baking make the cobbler topping, sift the flour, all but 2 tablespoons of sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Rub in the margarine with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Combine the egg and tablespoons of almond milk in a pitcher and mix into the dry ingredients with a fork until a soft, sticky dough forms. If the dough seems dry, stir in the extra tablespoon of milk.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400 F. remove peaches from oven and drop spoonfuls of the topping over the surface, without smoothing. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar, return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and firm – topping will spread as it cooks.

Sixteen year old Franz Sacher first developed his famous torte on a day when Austria’s Chancellor Prince Klemens Lothar Wenzel von Metternich‘s pastry Chef was out sick, and the Prince – who was entertaining some foreign diplomats that evening – needed urgent help. Since 1832, Sachertorte has been famous enough to attract many a tourist from around the world to the two Vienna establishments that serve it. The Demel Bakery, where young Franz worked at the time, claimed they had the original recipe while the Sacher Hotel – owned by the Sacher family – claimed theirs was the real one. After 7 years, of fierce legal battles, the courts decided that both could be sold under the name Sachertorte. The main difference between the two consists in Demel‘s being simply coated with apricot jam and chocolate icing, whileSacher‘s also has a layer of apricot jam spread through the center.

As the kids were growing up, this cake became a tradition in our home, a special treat to celebrate that special occasion, a celebration of that special landmark in each one’s journey through life:

Sachertote

Photo from: Holidays in Austria - Arrive and revive

Ingredients

5 oz unsalted margarine (or butter for a tastier, dairy, version)

5 oz plain chocolate melted

5 oz castor sugar (hard to find and rather expensive you can make your own by grinding regular granulated sugar in a blender or food processor, castor or caster sugar is much finer than confectioner’s sugar and dissolves immediately)

6 eggs separated

4 oz plain flour, sifted

Apricot jam

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Apply margarine lightly to a deep, 9 inch cake tin and line the bottom with margarined greaseproof paper.

Cream the margarine and beat in the the cooled melted chocolate 1 tablespoon at a time. Add the sugar and egg yolks alternatively, beating well after each addition. Mix in the flour.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry and fold into the chocolate mixture

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for an hour, or until the cake is well risen and has shrunk slighly from the sides of the tin.

Remove cake from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

When the cake is quite cool, either spread the top and sides with warmed – strained – apricot jam, or cut the cake in half horizontally, spread the jam between the two layers (which I prefer) and put together the two halves before spreading the top and sides with more jam.

Chocolate Icing

7 oz plain chocolate

8 oz castor sugar

5 oz water

margarine

Directions

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. In another pan, dissolve the the sugar in water over low heat. When the sugar has dissolved increase the heat and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Beat the chocolate until smooth; gradually beat in enough hot sugar syrup to make the icing the consistency of thick cream, Finally beat in a small piece of margarine.

Pour the hot icing over the top of the cake and let it run down the sides. Quickly smooth the icing round the sides of the cake with a spatula. The less the icing is touched, the shinier it will be. Set aside until the glaze is quite hard and dry.

Serve with one or two billows of Crème Chantilly (sweetened whipped cream).

SYR and I are both confirmed, hopeless, chocoholics. Yes, we love chocolate in almost any shape or form. Here is a recipe she adapted (to make it pareve) from Jacqueline Bellefontaine‘s What’s Cooking Chocolate:

Viennese Chocolate Fingers

Makes about 18

Ingredients

1/2 cup sweet margarine

6 tbsp confectioner’s sugar

1 1/2 cups self – rising flour, sifted

3 tbsp cornstarch

7 ounces dark chocolate

Directions

Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets. Beat the sweet margarine and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat the flour and cornstarch into the mixture.

Melt 2 1/4 oz of the dark chocolate and beat into the cookie dough.

Place in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe fingers bout 2 inches long on the prepared cookie sheets, slightly spaced apart to allow for spreading during cooking.

Bake in a prepared oven at 375 F for 12-15 minutes. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets, then carefully transfer with a spatula to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Melt the remaining, dark chocolate and dip one end of each cookie in the chocolate, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl.

Place the cookies on a sheet of baking parchment and allow to completely set before serving.

Not only do these cookies practically “melt in your mouth,” but the taste is almost unequaled by anything else I can remember. They went so fast, I never got a chance to shoot my own picture and had to use the photo above, a detail from the one appearing in the book!

Biscotti (or biscotto in singular) are Italian cookies which are baked twice, once by first baking in a loaf, then slicing the loaf and baking the slices. They are deliciously crunchy and are just perfect for dipping into dessert wine or coffee.

They are one of my favorite breakfast treats, sometimes I’ll even have them as dessert with wine, after a special dinner. Here is Lévana‘s easy and scrumptious recipe:

Mix the eggs, sugar and oil by hand or with a mixer, until well combined. Add all remaining dough ingredients and mix to make a smooth dough. The dough can be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. On a very lightly foured board, roll each piece into a 12 inch cylinder. Transfer each cylinder onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten into a log about 2 1/2 inches wide and and 1/2 inch thick. Make sure the shaped logs are at least 1 inch apart, as they will expand. Bake for 20 minutes.

Reduce the temperature to 325 F.

When the logs are cool enough to handle, carefully move them onto a cutting board. Cut 1/2 inch slices with a very sharp serrated knife; put the slices back on the cookie sheet, cut upside down and bake again for 20 more minutes or until golden brown and very crisp. (Take one out and let it cool and then taste it. If it’s not very crisp, return the biscotti to the oven for 2 to three minutes.)

Fernando Pessoa, a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic and translator often referred to as one of the 20th century’s most significant literary figures, once wrote: Look, there’s no metaphysics on earth like chocolates. Chocolate is one of those heavenly foods almost everyone carries on either a secret or an open love affair with. Much has been written on the subject of chocolate. Tens of thousands of recipes have been developed to harness the flavor, to enhance other ingredients by making the combination the human equivalent of fabled celestial fare.

It is all too easy to become a chocoholic; taste a high quality chocolate once and you will forever be under its spell! Writer, journalist and psychoanalysis researcher Judith Viorst said: Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands – and then eat just one of the pieces. I can personally attest that such a feat requires almost herculean will in resisting the temptation to eat them all!

In our everlasting quest to bring you delicious recipes, we have found the following mouthwatering masterpiece in Jacqueline Bellefontaine‘s What’s Cooking Chocolate:

Chocolate and Raspberry Vacherin

A vacherin is made of layers of crisp meringue sandwiched together with fruit and cream. It makes a fabulous dessert for special occasions.

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

3 egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 ounce dark chocolate, grated

Filling

6 ounces dark chocolate

2 cups whipped cream

2 cups fresh raspberries

a little melted chocolate to decorate

Directions

Draw three rectangles, 4 by 10 inches, on sheets of parchment paper and place on 2 cookie sheets.

Beat the eggs whites in a mixing bowl until standing in soft peaks, then gradually beat in half the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is very stiff and glossy.

Carefully fold in the rest of the sugar, the cornstarch and grated chocolate with a metal spoon or spatula.

Spoon the meringue mixture into a pastry bag long fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip and pipe lines across the rectangles.

Bake in a preheated oven at 275 Ffor 1 1/2 hours changing the positions of the cookie sheets, halfway through. Without opening the oven door. turn off the oven and leave the the meringues until they are completely cold, then peel away the paper.

To make the filling, melt the chocolate and spray it over 2 0f the meringue layers. Leave the filling to harden.

Place 1 chocolate-coated meringue on a plate and top with about one-third of cream and raspberries. Gently place the second chocolate-coated meringue on top and spread with half the remaining cream and raspberries

Place the last meringue on the top and decorate with the remaing cream and raspberries. Drizzle a little melted chocolate over the top and serve.

Many a moon ago someone told me, nine out of ten people like chocolate, the tenth one is a liar. I’m starting to believe that may just be the case…

SYR's pie from the recipe, photographed by Irving Schild for The Kosher Scene

Every so often I get a pecan pie urge, for me, means I need to make one. On one such occasion I discovered I didn’t have the corn syrup, the traditional sweetener. The serendipitous replacement was maple syrup, which adds its own great flavor as well as sweetness. I also found a store-bought frozen pie shell – my standard go-to when making this, especially when its part of a big-deal holiday menu. Feel free, of course, to make your own crust, but a bought shell works beautifully here and saves toons of time. Using chopped and whole pecans adds textual interest.

Convert It

To make this dairy, use unsalted butter in place of Margarine

Ingredients

One 9-inch frozen pie crust

1 1/2 cups pecan, 1 cup coarsely chopped, the remaining whole

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup pure maple syrup

3/4 cup packed light sugar

1/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons margarine, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Cover a cookie sheet with foil and place the pie crust in it. Spread the chopped nuts over the crust and arrange the whole nuts on top. Set Aside.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, syrup, sugars, eggs, margarine and vanilla. Stir to blend and pour over the nuts. Bake until the filling is set and slightly puffed, about 60 minutes. Transfer to to a rack to cool before serving.

Easy to make and superb tasting… who can ask for anything more? Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

Pecan Pie may be a Thanksgiving classic, but it also happens to be a favorite of mine at almost any time. I looked for an easy to make, great tasting recipe and I found this one on one of our must read foodie blogs:

Pecan Pie

Photo by: Irene Saiger from bamitbach.wordpress.com

This recipe was printed in the New York Times many years ago. It is the only one I use and has never failed me.

1-10″ baked pie shell

1 1/4 cups dark corn syrup

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

4 eggs

1/2 stick butter or pareve margarine, melted

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup pecan halves.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Partially bake your pie shell. Remove and allow to cool. Combine the corn syrup and sugar in a heavy pan. Bring to a boil and stir till sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl. Mix in cooled syrup, melted butter, chopped pecans and vanilla. Pour into pie shell. Decorate the top of pie with pecan halves. Bake for about 50 minutes. Cover crust with foil to prevent from over-browning. Serves 10

This year we feature yom tov recipes again and we’ll start this year’s series with one of Chef Lévana Kirschenbaum‘s dishes, from her new book The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen.

Photo by: Meir Pliskin

Cranberry Apricot Bread Pudding

I often whip up this treat after a party, when I look to recycle my leftover bread. Attention gluten- free diners: This is for you too!

Any bread will do as long as it is not too crusty (in other words, don’t use baguette or ciabatta!). You will love the kick and the bold ruby-colored specks the cranberries add. Nothing to it: All aboard-one step and you’re done! Individual desserts: Pour into greased muffin molds and reduce the baking time to about 45 minutes.

Sometimes cranberries can be hard to find, like in this Rosh Hashanah holiday season, so I am making the pudding with apples, which is every bit as delicious. I have included the apple variation, every bit as delicious and as pretty.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Mix all ingredients except cranberries by hand in a bowl, breaking up the bread and preserves as you go. Fold in the cranberries. Pour the batter into a greased 9-by-13-inch pan, or a greased 10-inch round pan. Bake for about 1 hour, or a little longer, until the pudding looks nice and puffy, and the center is firm. Serve warm or at room temperature, alone or with caramel sauce (recipe follows), and a scoop of sorbet or vanilla ice cream. Makes a dozen servings.

Caramel Sauce

Another glowing example of a treat known as dairy that doesn’t in the least suffer from a dairy-free adaptation, au contraire! (Go ahead and multiply the recipe if you would like-it keeps very well.)

1 cup Sucanat

½ cup agave syrup

⅓ cup water

¾ cup dairy-free milk, low-fat OK

⅓ cup soy or rice milk powder

3 tablespoons brandy or rum

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

Bring the Sucanat, agave, and water to boil in a small saucepan, stirring. When it comes to a boil, stop stirring and cook until thick and a deep amber color, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk the remaining ingredients in a small bowl until perfectly smooth, then carefully add to the saucepan (to avoid splattering). Cook another 3 minutes on a medium flame, whisking. Makes about 2½ cups. Store refrigerated in a glass jar.

Since my earliest days there was something about the taste of lemon I always liked, ever since I’ve tried to include lemon as an ingredient wherever possible… and sometimes even where it was not always possible to make it work.

Lemon Tarts are and have long been personal favorites, here is a a parve (and a dairy) version of the recipe:

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Use a pastry blender to mix the dry ingredients. Next slice the margarine and parvecream cheese into 1″ slices and add it to the flour mixture. Use the pastry blender, or two knives in a scissor fashion, to combine the ingredients until mixture has the texture of a coarse meal.Next combine the water and the vanilla extract and sprinkle it over the flour mixture. Using two forks pull the flour from the bottom up over the top. Then with your hands, gently begin kneading the dough to form a ball. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or freeze it for up to one month).Finally preheat the oven to 375F. When you’re ready to use the dough, roll it out on a floured surface and place it in 6 to 8 mini tart pans (or one 9-inch tart pan). Add some pie weights or dried beans to the tart pans and bake the shells for 10 minutes. Then carefully remove the weights and return the shells to the oven for another 5 to 10 more minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and set aside to cool completely.While the tart shell is baking, prepare the filling.

Filling

Carefully remove the peel from one lemon. Cut the peel down so that it?s paper thin and slightly translucent. Then using a sharp knife mince the lemon peel. The peel of one lemon makes approximately one tablespoon.Add the minced lemon peel, sugar and eggs to a small sauce pan and whisk together. Stir in the lemon juice and then add the butter in pieces. Cook over medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture simmers. Do not let the mixture boil.Once the butter is melted, reduce the heat to a simmer and stir constantly until the mixture thickens (5 to 7 minutes). Finally remove from heat, cover and let cool, stirring occasionally.

Assembling the tarts

When the tart shell has cooled and the lemon filling has cooled. Pour the filling into the mini tart shells, using approximately 1/3 cup per tart. Refrigerate the tarts for at least an hour. Serve chilled or at room temperature.